LBT set to lose bioMérieux licence deal

LBT Innovations (ASX:LBT) has been informed that French diagnostics company bioMérieux plans to terminate the licence agreement covering LBT’s PREVI Isola automated microbial streaking tool.

After entering an alliance with lab automation technology company COPAN, bioMérieux intends to terminate its deal with LBT Innovations within the next 12 months.

LBT and bioMérieux signed a global licensing agreement in 2007 and the deal has been a significant source of revenue for the Australian company.

In FY14 the deal represented 16.5% of LBT’s total revenue, and LBT has received around $13 million in milestone and royalty payments over the life of the agreement. The company expects royalty income in 2015, but only until the deal is terminated.

In a statement to shareholders, LBT said it plans to “immediately work with bioMérieux to further clarify the future of the [deal] including the potential return of the MicroStreak technology, opening up new opportunities for the company”.

LBT’s MicroStreak technology allows laboratories to automatically assess agar plates at a faster rate than manual assessment.

LBT Innovations (ASX:LBT) shares were trading 30% lower at $0.07 as of around 1.30 pm on Monday.